A combination of weird weather, other-business, and exposure on my foot means that my motorcycle Cylon isn’t getting nearly the workout I would like this year. Granted, by this time last year I’d just started my 3000 mile pledge, but I feel like I should have more ticks on the odometer because I’m much better equipped this season. With heated grips, better boots, wicking apparel and so on I am disappointed I’m still grounded by the weather. This could partly be remedied by buying cold-weather style riding gear, but there are a few problems with that: it costs money, it’s textile (much less protective than leather), and is awfully special purpose. I will probably only wear it two or three months out of the year, and dropping $400+ on winter riding equipment seems like an expensive pursuit.

Despite being nervous about the ambient air temperature (~44°F) I took Cylon out around the county. I intended to stay at slower speeds, but we all know how that goes. The next thing I knew I was carving through traffic at 75MPH and smiling like a fool. The nice thing about riding on colder days is that there’s the absolute minimum amount of traffic on my favorite roads. The level of car traffic stays roughly the same, but when it’s cold all of the garage queens and squids stay home, meaning fewer motorcycles on the twisties. I rarely get stuck behind another motorcyclist on my routes, but when I do it’s obvious they don’t know the roads very well. Bummer.

Hopefully we’ll have another warm snap come February and I’ll get to wear my summertime gear, just like I did last year. 🙂